'RHOD' star D'Andra Simmons opens up about abusive ex: 'He fractured my skull'

"Real Housewives of Dallas" star D'Andra Simmons revealed she was a victim of domestic violence 10 years ago. (Getty)

“Real Housewives of Dallas” star D’Andra Simmons is speaking out about her own domestic violence story following the death of one of her friends.

“Successful women, that it looks like they have everything going for them from the outside, but then there’s a secret they’re hiding,” she told local affiliate Fox 4 after the death of Anger Room founder Donna Alexander.

Simmons’ comments came after Alexander died on Sept. 21 after she was taken off of life support following an assault by her estranged boyfriend, Nathaniel Mitchell.

The reality star revealed she was in an abusive relationship 10 years ago and detailed the nature of that relationship and the gruesome attack she says she endured.

“He broke my fingers, he fractured my skull, I had internal bleeding. At the end of the time, I remember saying to him, I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I tried to call out, and all the phones, he destroyed all the phones. They were either broken or he threw them away. I couldn’t use the phone; I couldn’t get out the door. I said, ‘There’s a rifle in the back room.’ I said, ‘Just go, it’s loaded. Just put it to my head and shoot me because I can’t do this anymore.’”

Simmons eventually fled to a women’s shelter where she received counseling to assist her in leaving her situation.

“The message that you want to send other women who feel like they’re kind of stuck in a situation like you were in,” said Simmons. “Get out. The counseling and get the encouragement to be able to leave because I promise you, I was there. I wish I had talked to somebody a long time before I did. If I had, I would have been out a lot earlier. Luckily I didn’t lose my life, but Donna did, and don’t let her death be for nothing.”